A Paradigm Shift - how to more effectively market our home business opportunity

I ran across an article just a few days ago that has greatly affected my thinking on how to approach prospects for my MLM business. I was so impressed by it that i posted it on my blog a day or so later. i will not repeat it word for word, here, but I believe the basic premise which underllies the article is worth some discussion. I also believe it represents somewhat of a paradigm shift in how we can be most successful marketing our opportunities. I'll share the "Readers' Digest" version here and open it up for discussion. I'd like to see what you MLM pro's think about this. If you would like to read the entire article, by Alan Kuykendall of Big Cash Creator, LLC, feel free to visit my blog (the link is below in my sig file) and post a coment there. I welcome everyone's input. So, here goes. Oh, and to you spam police in here, I am not in anyway associated with the above company, I am just giving them props as a way of thanking them for allowing me to use the article.

For years MLM, Network Marketing, Direct Sales, etc. has offered the dangled carrot to potential prospects that says, "join my business opportunity and you can become wealthy, unbelievably wealthy, virtually overnight." Or another way to put it is, "you can become rich, like me!" This in fact, could not be further from the truth, but none the less it was the norm, in MLM. This spawned the whole "fake it till you make it" marketing approach, because as we all know, newbies in any MLM were not rich, but they were taught to pretend they were in order to make the business more appealing to prospects. This has done untold damage to our image as Home Business professionals, MLM professionals, etc. We truly need to clean up that image, which by the way, is not the point of this article. The point of this article is to suggest a change in tactics, how we approach potential business partners.

The economy is changing, gas is at an all time high, and the price of food, clothing, the necessities of life have all risen proportionately. People are declining to take vacations, especially ones that require travel. People are genuinely afraid of what the next turn of the tide will reveal. This economical climate has and will continue to have an effect on our industry. However, I believe, if we are willing to adapt our marketing approach, it presents us with an unprecedented opportunity to grow our businesses as never before. You see, our fortunes, our success are in the hands of what is comonly described as "The Masses." Successful organizations figured out a long time ago, that to succeed, to build those huge downlines, multiple legs, and so forth, a business needs to get the message out to "The Masses." It's a fact that those large companies with the huge downlines consist mostly of simple and common people with a dream. Those are the ones who will explode your business, and produce great wealth for themselves and for you. But dangling that potential wealth is NOT the way to prospect. Let me explain.

How do we reach the average joe? Is it with promises of becoming a multi-millionaire? I think not, and the article i read just a few days ago agrees with that premise. People today are wising up to the whole "get rich like me" promise. They say, and I have heard this myself, "if that is true, and if anyone can become wealthy that easily, why are there not more of them, and why is the economy in such a mess?" Now we know this thinking is flawed, on many levels, and that in fact, true wealth can and will continue to be realized by "average" people with a dream and the desire to achieve it, who start and build a successful Home Business. But, perception is reality, and most people today percieve this to be nothing more than a pipe dream and a "dangled carrot" to get them to jump in so the MLM can bleed them dry and send them away broke! This is a fact. How often do we see the word "scam" used, even in here and in other forums?

The whole get rich quick marketing approach is losing it's appeal to the average person. In the article, the author suggested a change in our tactic from promising untold wealth, to promising that we can show mister average joe, or josey, no offense intended ladies, a way to add a few hundred to a thousand bucks a month to their budget to supplement their household income and help them afford to spend more time with their families, take a summer vacation, spend a few days at the lake, at the beach, camping in the mountains, or whatever. That my friends is True Gold! People will listen to that, and they will believe it, and more importantly, they will take action. I have seen it personally. Buy taking this approach with the average person we meet, whether it's a friend at work, or a purchased lead, we will be much more successful at bringing people into our opportunities, and we will be able to grow our businesses much more easily. Plus, and we know this is true, if these people will "stick" with us, they WILL become wealthy. MLM works, it always has and always will. We just have to find a way to introduce it to todays frightened, worried, living paycheck to paycheck average joe.

Here is a potential scenario. People standing around the water cooler or copy machine at work, chit chatting. Mr. average joe talks about the great trip he and the family just had to Disney World. The others ask him, "Joe, you work here just like we do, how in the world can you afford it?" He has just been handed the Golden Ticket! They are all ears, they want to know how he did it, and he is prepared to tell them. Do you see what I mean? Absolute Pure Gold! When someone I go to church with, or work with, or play softball with, bowl with, whatever, tells me they are going to have to cancel that vacation they had planned, or that aniversary dinner with their wife or husband, it's my time to shine! They are giving me an open invitation to show them how they CAN afford to do those things. Sure, there are still people with money and means who will join your business, but those people are few and far between, and if you are counting on finding enough of them to explode your business, you are missing the boat! Oh, you may find one here and there, and when you do, by all means, dangle that carrot. But, in the mean time, if we use this new and dramatically different approach, I believe we will have great success. So, let me know what you think, guys. I'm open for your input.

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I think you made a lot of valid points - its important to be honest and not pretend we are something we not. I think a lot of people lose sight of ethics, and will do anything to make a quick buck, including compromise their integrity, but I think there are a lot of people who will respond to honesty and sincerity.